Inside City Hall Updates From Ward 3 By Sandra Luther What comes to mind when you think of the men and women who maintain your City services? Who do you visualize designing the landscape around the entrance points of your City? Do you ever wonder who maintains the chemical balance of the water we swim in and splash in our pools and spray park? What about the potholes during the winter that disappear by spring? What about the various intersections where you can turn left easily because of the left turn arrow? What about all of our vehicles, especially the emergency vehicles? All of the above questions have one answer – Our City Service Department workers. Your beautiful City Hall, Community/Senior Center, Fire and Police Departments are maintained inside and outside by these workers. Your parks, entrance ways into the city, playground equipment, tennis courts, ball fields, picnic tables, wellgroomed grassy fields, trash cans and comfort stations are also maintained by these workers. Service Department employees maintain the computerized systems that operate our traffic lights. They maintain all city vehicles. Also, as has been expressed over the many years, we have the best plowed streets in Lake County, thanks to the Service Department. Spring 2009 Wickliffe Connection 3 Ohio’s new child seatbelt law By Patrolman Randy J. Veri In a recent six year period in Ohio, from 2002 to 2007, motor vehicle crashes killed 89 children ages 4 through 7 and injured more than 21,000 in the same age group, according to the Ohio Department of Public Safety. Brian Newbacher of the Ohio Conference of AAA Clubs said that children, 4 to 8 years old, are too small to be protected adequately by the car’s seat belt system that is designed and tested for a 168-pound adult male. Booster seats help protect children from injury and death in crashes by ensuring that the adult seat belt fits properly. Proper fit reduces the risk of “lap belt syndrome,” which occurs when the lap belt portion of the adult seat belt rides up into a child’s abdomen, potentially causing severe injuries, from head trauma to internal injuries to vital organs. A booster seat raises the child so that the vehicle’s lap and shoulder belts fit properly. The lap portion fits snug across the hips and the shoulder belt angles across the shoulder and chest. This simple and relatively inexpensive solution saves lives and reduces injuries. Ohio lawmakers agree. On January 6, 2009, the State of Ohio signed a new child seatbelt law that will take effect on April 7, 2010. An amendment to Ohio Revised Code 4511.093, 4511.81, and 4513.263 requires certain children who are between 4-8 years of age to be secured in a booster seat. It also states that a child who is less than eight years of age and less than four feet nine inches in height has to be secured in a booster seat. Violation of this booster seat provision is a secondary traffic offense. This means that a police officer cannot stop you for not having your child in a booster seat, but if you are stopped for a traffic offense and the child seatbelt offense is noticed by the officer, you can be issued a citation. For six months, from October 7, 2009 thru April 6, 2010, only warnings are to be issued to a vehicle operator if their child is found not secured in a booster seat. Beginning on April 7, 2010, fines for the violation can range from $25.00 to $75.00 if issued a citation by a police officer. This is only an addendum to the Ohio seatbelt law, and it does not void any other seatbelt/child safety seat laws that are being followed at this time. If you would like to read more about the new booster seat law, and information on choosing and using a child safety seat, go to www.boostohiokids.org. If you have any questions regarding the new child seatbelt law, feel free to contact me at the Wickliffe Police Community Policing and Crime Prevention Office at (440) 943-7134 or by email at wickliffecrimeprevention@yahoo.com. Thank You, Ptl. Randy J. Veri. Skilled employees They are skilled electricians, plumbers, woodworkers, mechanics, traffic technicians, landscapers, heavy equipment operators, masons, etc. They attend certification classes, seminars, and safety training in everything from chain saw operation to CPR training. They keep up on state and federal regulations that pertain to our street signing, playground equipment safety inspections and building maintenance. The Administration has taken great pride to hire these outstanding workers. These workers take pride in what they do for the city. Thank them when you see them. Information provided by Don Kerniskey, Acting Service Director Keep your lawn green & streams clean Summer Sprinkling Program • Fertilize in the fall for a healthy lawn Most people associate a deep green applications due April 30 throughout the winter and into spring. lawn with a healthy lawn. But too much fertilizer can harm rivers and lakes. Utilizing the proper amount of fertilizer and establishing a hearty root system results in a healthy lawn that will help control soil erosion and absorb stormwater. The best time to fertilize is the fall, not spring. Too much fertilizer can cost you money, burn your lawn, and wash off with stormwater, flowing directly to creeks and rivers. The Lake County Stormwater Management Department urges you to practice responsible lawn care this spring and summer to help keep our rivers and Lake Erie clean. Consider these steps: • Leave your grass clippings on the lawn or buy a mulching mower. It will not promote thatch and will return the water and nutrients to the soil, reducing your need to fertilize. Or, compost your yard waste. • Do not pile yard waste on the banks of streams. • Do not dump any leftover fertilizer or pesticides into a storm drain. • Use a properly calibrated spreader to apply just the right amount of fertilizer. Fertilizing in the spring can damage your lawn and promote weed growth. • Do not fertilize right before it rains and do not over-water. This will not help your lawn absorb the nutrients; the fertilizer will wash off your lawn and into the storm drains. • Clean up spills by sweeping up excess fertilizer and reusing it. Never rinse fertilizer and grass clippings away. • Store fertilizer in your garage and out of the rain. Fertilizer that enters stormwater can cause too much algae to grow in rivers and lakes. These plants use oxygen in the water that fish and insects need to survive. The increase in growth also makes water undesirable for swimming, can make water more difficult to treat for drinking, and can cause foul odors. Please consider stormwater pollution when maintaining your lawn this spring. Everyone can make a difference. For further information, contact the Lake County Stormwater Management Department at www.lakecountyohio.gov/smd or 350-5900. If you have not yet registered for the Summer Sprinkling Program, applications are due by April 30. How does the program work? On your water bill, you are charged sewer fees that are based on your total use of water. With the Residential Summer Sprinkling Program, if you use more water during the summer months for sprinkling and other seasonal usage, your summer water bill (May through September) will reflect sewer charges based on the amount of water you used during the winter (November through April). You may estimate your savings by comparing your summer water usage to the past winter water usage. This program applies to sewer charges only. You still must pay the Lake County Department of Utilities for all the water used. A one-time administrative fee of $20.00 must be submitted with the completed application below. If you have previously applied for the Summer Sprinkling Program, you do not need to reapply. Once you are on the program, you are automatically renewed every year. If you are not sure if you have previously registered, call Patty Fowler at Wickliffe City Hall 440-943-7100. ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★ ★ ★ 29348 Euclid Ave. ★ ★ Wickliffe ★ ★ (Between Rockefeller ★ ★ & Lloyd Rd.) ★ ★ Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, ★ ★ Sat 10am-3pm ★ ★ PATRIOTIC GIFTS FOR PATRIOTIC PEOPLE 440-944-5180 ★ ★ ★ We carry a wide selection of Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard: ★ ★ ★ • Pins & Decals ★ ★ • T-Shirts, Sweatshirts & Hoodies ★ ★ • Sweatpants, Zip Up Hoodies • Dog Tags & Mini Medals ★ ★ & Jackets • Flags, Garden Flags & Flag ★ ★ Poles ★ ★ • Kid’s T-Shirts & Sweatshirts • Hats ★ ★ • Patriotic/Military Greeting Cards & • And so much more... ★ ★ Bookmarks ★ ★ MILITARY PRIDE EXCLUSIVE ★ ★ ★ ★ “HERO BRACELETS” ★ ★ Honor those currently serving, wounded in combat, ★ ★ or killed in action. 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Homeowner’s Signature CHECK PAYABLE & RETURNED TO Date City of Wickliffe, 28730 Ridge Road, Wickliffe, OH 44092 ATTN: Summer Sprinkling Program Deadline is April 30, 2009 Previous applicants are still in program and need not apply again in 2009. Military Pride 2x4 SPEC.indd 1 2/11/09 3:38:03 PM previous page next page